Every time there are losses there are choices to be made. You choose to live your losses as passages to anger, blame, hatred, depression and resentment, or you choose to let these losses be passages to something new, something wider, and deeper.~ Henri Nouwen

Listen to Dr. Sue Johnson as she identifies warning signs in a marriage and what you can do to prevent issues from destroying your relationship.

Couples & Marriage Counseling

Do you long for more intimacy, trust and joy in your relationship? Do you sense that your fights seem to revolve around the same issues over and over? Are you frustrated with attempted improvements that don't last?

As a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in couples and marriage counseling, I look at the relationship and each person's role in maintaining and solving problems. I provide a safe, non-judgmental environment to grow and cultivate new ways of communicating your needs. I guide couples through a journey of re-discovery so that they not only build a stronger relationship, but a stronger friendship as well. Learning to give each other the benefit of the doubt is one of the keys to cooperation in times of conflict. I have additional training in EFT - Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples. I am level II trained Gottman Couples Counseling and ScreamFree Parenting & Marriages.

One of the therapeutic tools I use is Emotionally Focused Therapy. EFT is a structured approach to couples therapy formulated in the early 80's by Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg. A substantial body of research outlining the effectiveness of EFT now exists. The goals of EFT include expanding and re-organizing key emotional responses, creating positive shifts in interactional positions, initiating new cycles of interaction and fostering the creation of a secure bond between partners. EFT is being used with many different kinds of couples in private practice, university training centers and hospital clinics and many different cultural groups throughout the world. These distressed couples include partners suffering from disorders such as depression, post traumatic stress disorders and chronic illness. (1)

EFT is a documented method for creating loving connections, where each of you feels sure of your partner. Research shows 7 out of 10 couples move from distress to recovery and 90% show significant improvement. It is a present-focused, non-blaming, humanistic, and client-centered model. It is currently the best delineated and most empirically validated couples counseling method of the past 25 years. These EFT couples continued to have strong and growing relationships even after 2 years of completing therapy. (see Johnson, S., Hunsley, J., Greenberg, L. & Schindler, D. (1999). Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (A meta-analysis). Journal of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 67-79.)Footnotes:(1) International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT). http://iceeft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=82

Pre-Marital Counseling

The season before marriage is an exciting and nerve-racking time. With dozens of decisions to be made all while anticipating huge life changes, this can be an extremely volatile and stressful time for many. Quarreling and disconnectedness is common during what should be one of the most memorable times of your life. Not only does premarital counseling help you to stay grounded during the time leading up to your big day, it is also an invaluable investment in your marital future. Counseling will help minimize surprises and help prepare individuals/couples to work thru the difficult seasons in their marriage. My process consists of a series of sessions which will address:

How past relationships will impact marriage and how to manage these influences

Verbalizing fears and resolving conflict in honest and respectful ways

Identifying relationship goals and financial issues

In the pre-marital counseling process I utilize two therapeutic tools:The first is Prepare/Enrich Inventory by David Olson, Ph.D., which assesses relationship areas in his five couple inventories. For more information regarding Prepare/Enrich and David Olson, Ph.D., please go to www.prepare-enrich.com. Receiving four hours of Pre-marital counseling may reduce your marriage license fee.

The second is Emotionally Focused Therapy. EFT is a structured approach to couples therapy formulated in the early 80's by Drs. Sue Johnson and Les Greenberg. A substantial body of research outlining the effectiveness of EFT now exists. The goals of EFT include expanding and re-organizing key emotional responses, creating positive shifts in interactional positions, initiating new cycles of interaction and fostering the creation of a secure bond between partners. EFT is being used with many different kinds of couples in private practice, university training centres and hospital clinics and many different cultural groups throughout the world. These distressed couples include partners suffering from disorders such as depression, post traumatic stress disorders and chronic illness.(1)Footnotes:(1) International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT). http://iceeft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=82